A House Divided

God's House will be rebuilt only when each Jew truly cares and loves his or her fellow Jew.

Well I looked into a house I once lived inAround the time I first went on my own...Now the distance is done and the search has begunI've come to see where my beginnings have gone
-Jackson Browne

Not long ago I sat with a man in the back of his home when –- and I don't even remember how we got to this point of the conversation -- he declared that "this house has lost its soul." I did not know what he meant and was not comfortable pursuing his painfully honest statement. Rest assured, we are not talking about a dilapidated home that has been abandoned by someone who took out a mortgage way beyond their means. No, this is truly a stunning and artistic dwelling, sitting on a piece of property that most would die for.

The synagogue had lost its soul.

While I cannot understand why he feels the way he does about his home, I began to get an appreciation of the concept that same week when I visited a very large synagogue on South Beach to look into the possibility of holding an Aish program there. This synagogue was once the jewel of all synagogues in Miami. It was where the who's who and the hoi polloi prayed. But today it is a different building. The powerful rabbi who led the congregation died many years ago. They have been through many rabbis and are now both rabbi and cantor-less. There really is not much activity except on Shabbat and a school that rents the building. I can only imagine what Shabbat services feel like on weeks without a Bar Mitzvah, in the large opulent sanctuary with only a few people attending. As I toured the building, checking out spots for a possible venue, I came to realize that it too had become a home that had clearly lost its soul.

Tisha B'Av -- the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av -– is this week. It is the saddest day in the Hebrew calendar as both the first and second Temples were destroyed on that date. The rabbis in the Talmud tell us that the second Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam -- gratuitous hatred that Jews felt for one another. Not unlike today, there were many different factions of Jews, but thankfully, unlike today, they more than "did not just get along", they actually turned on one another -- even violently.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai had to be smuggled out of Jerusalem with the ruse of being a corpse in a coffin, not because of repercussions from the Roman tyranny but because he feared for his life from his fellow Jewish zealots. They would have opposed and killed him if they knew of his plan to make a deal with the Roman rulership by giving up Jerusalem in exchange for an alternative site, Yavneh, to continue Jewish study and to relocate the Sanhedrin.

Thankfully, we have not reached that point of Jewish infighting in our day and age. Unity does not mean that all Jews have to think, act and look alike. Nay, it is our diversity that has made us such a unique and powerful people throughout the ages. But when, as we saw in last week's Torah portion, people begin to express their personal needs without considering the larger affect it may have on the nation as a whole -- as Moses illustrated when he chastised the tribes of Reuben et al in their request to stay on the east side of the Jordon, ignoring how their request may affect the rest of the nation -- then the rot within the house has already begun. Even earlier in our history, close to its inception, Joseph's message to his brothers was not one of personal vendetta but of "Is our father still alive?" Did you not kill our father emotionally in your righteous indignation of your treatment of me?

Differences are never the issue; they are inherent to any group and certainly to Jews. But when those differences begin to take on a life of their own, when they become the raison d'être of the particular faction and supersede the overall good of the nation, then it is just a matter of time before the House of Israel begins to disintegrate and decay.

God's House will be rebuilt when its soul is resurrected and returned to it.

The Romans did not destroy the Temple; it was destroyed much earlier. The first cracks appeared even before it was built, during Joseph's generation. Structural faults set in during Moses' rule. Serious decay began to spread when Israel divided into two nations later on in our history. Such was the pattern for hundreds of years and with each internal conflict, the foundation, walls and roof deteriorated more and more. By the time the Romans got there, it was a building that was so rotted that it was well on its way to being condemned. It was already on the brink of teetering, the Romans were merely the wrecking ball.

The rebuilding of the Temple is not dependant on a group making a yearly statement by laying a cornerstone at the Temple Mount, nor by figuring out how to do away with the mosque at its site. It is not about creating a building campaign and hiring the best construction company, nor is it about singing about how much we want Mashiach. God's House will be rebuilt when its soul is resurrected and returned to it. And that can only happen when each Jew truly cares and loves his or her fellow Jew. Then, and only then, will the House once again have a soul.

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About the Author

Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale is Director of Aish South Florida. Tzvi grew up in Toronto, Canada, home of the perennially losing Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team. He attended Aish Jerusalem in the summer of 1979, determined to gain access to great Jewish works and thinkers such as the Talmud and Maimonides. Little did he know that it would take far longer than two months; he ended up staying in Israel for nine years. He received rabbinic ordination in 1985 and met his wife Karen, who grew up in London and is the great-granddaughter of the former chief rabbi of Meshed, Iran. As can only happen in Israel, Canadian-Polish-Jewish became intertwined with British-Israeli-Persian. Rabbi Nightingale has been involved in Aish South Florida since 1989 and has been Executive Director since 1993. During that time he has met over 20,000 people who have attended Aish programs, but he does not remember all of their names. In the meantime, watching his beloved Maple Leafs not win a championship since 1967 has taught Rabbi Nightingale the importance of patiently waiting for the arrival of Moshiach.

Visitor Comments: 15

(15)
Malya Dinerman,
July 21, 2010 12:12 AM

reply to #6

Rabbis are not against Jews who are not Orthodox to be called Jews. Rabbis are against the definition of Jewish as anything other than being born to a Jewish mother. The Jewish mother in turn had to be born to a Jewish mother, Jewish defined as either being born to a Jewish mother or one who converted according to the Torah, the way the Torah says to convert, and not any other way. After all, it is the Torah which is the communication to Jews from G-d which tells us who G-d considers Jewish.

(14)
Anonymous,
July 21, 2010 12:07 AM

comment on singing about moshiach

Singing about Moshiach is the impetus to create a desire for Moshiach, and the best way to express that desire is to do things to bring him faster. Developing a feeling of love and unity for all Jews will motivate one to increase in acts of goodness and kindness, which will bring Moshiach faster. The acts themselves are one method to reinforce the feelings of love and unity among all of us. All methods we use to bring Moshiach will help in that endeavor.

(13)
Anonymous,
July 20, 2010 11:45 PM

Not the author's intent

I don't think the author intended the finger-pointing and negativity this article generated. For myself, I asked myself where I could reach across "lines of difference" and find the soul of a Jew. Thank you.

(12)
yitz greenman,
July 20, 2010 8:56 PM

excellent article

yasher koach Reb Tzvi for a very well written article that hits the nail on the head. would love to see more articles by you on the site...!

(11)
Anonymous,
July 20, 2010 5:29 PM

How True

I have seen and understand exactly what you are saying. But this truth goes out one step further. We all must love each other, everyone (not only Jews) to love one another as God loves us. When we show that love (even love for our enemies) it is as though we were pouring hot coals over our enemies heads. Our enemies do not know this but sense our goodness and pure hearts. It is the most difficult concept for man to understand, but we must understand it in order for everyone to live in peace.
Think of it... the lone terrorist or devil going about seeking the ruination of the nation. It is up to us to keep our hearts pure and holy. Then God will bless us and keep us, and the evil one will flee.

(10)
Shlomo,
July 20, 2010 3:05 PM

We still have hate

You stated "They would have opposed and killed him if they knew of his plan to make a deal with the Roman rulership by giving up Jerusalem in exchange for an alternative site" and imply that we are beyond that hatred today. Israel had a PM assassinated a few years ago. What if Bibi were to offer to divide Yerushalayim? And, of course, there are the various comments about the Conversion Bill in the Knesset.
Today is Tisha B'Av and I cannot help but to feel the weight of history.
I hope and pray that we can find a way to become united. A way that allows us to maintain Torah standards, to promote ahavas Yisroel, without being divisive or hateful. To hold the Torah and have it be a shield of protection rather than a sword of vengeance against the ideas of Jews who have forgotten, or never learned, Torah.

(9)
Ita,
July 20, 2010 5:56 AM

Conversion should stay with the Rabbis

Being a Jew means fully taking on the yoke of Torah with the understanding that it is a task of serving G-d as He should be served. A sincere convert will never have trouble being considered a Jew but one who does so for the sake of marriage and the like does not. This is why rabbis take great pains to deter potential converts . This is the only religion that does not encourage it because of it's seriousness.
The Rabbis are the ones who know the laws and that is the way it should stay. They will never turn down those who are sincere.

(8)
Hannah,
July 19, 2010 5:09 PM

How ironic

As comment #6 states, there is this bill in the Knesset. How ironic that the Shas rabbi announces right before Tesha b'Av that his party will quit the coalition if this divisive bill does not pass! How can such a rabbi not see the irony, not see the past mistakes of our community? How can he call himself a leader and not see why we've suffered for 2000 years? When did Shas become the G-d who judges? Maybe we should leave it up to G-d to determine who is a Jew and just get along with whoever He brings to Israel? I disagree with many of the halachahs of both the reform and the orthodox, but I'm trying to take on as many mitzvot as I can. It's a process. I say the answer is to model observant behavior together with the joy it brings, and pray that the less observant will see the joy and move up. there is something about the Land itself which encourages holiness, if one has eyes to see. But the judgementalism and the harshness of some of our most "observant" brothers is turning a lot of people off. Win the hearts with honey!

(7)
Lee,
July 19, 2010 4:54 PM

It's actually quite simple

As we read Ezra, we see that when the Jews returned from the Diaspora, they just started rebuilding the Temple (that is, after a bit of chastising from the L-rd spoken through the prophet Haggai (1.1-8) when they were more interested in their own houses, much as they are now). There were no major debates about who should build it or when it was time.
And the "making a yearly statement by laying a cornerstone at the Temple Mount", which is actually done several times a year, is to bring the Temple to the people's attention, who, for some reason, have the same problem when it comes to rebuilding the Temple as the people had in the time of Ezra.

(6)
Anonymous,
July 19, 2010 1:27 AM

Whose definition?

I feel conflicted by the statement "God's House will be rebuilt ... And that can only happen when each Jew truly cares and loves his or her fellow Jew." A few days ago, a new bill was introduced into the Knesset that would give the power to declare who is and who is NOT a Jew to the Chief Rabbinate only; the Law Of Return could then not include Jews other than those who are considered Orthodox. That's divisive. I can't accept an Israel that excludes people who've been living Jewishly, regardless of the way they live Jewishly. Either we DO truly care and love our fellow Jews, as urged in this article, or we will see the end of Israel as an independent and democratic Jewish homeland. Tisha b'Av already commemorates too many tragedies in our history; may this not be another.

(5)
Manasseh,
July 19, 2010 1:08 AM

Isnt That The Truth?!!

May Hashem Grant it!!!

(4)
Victor Hafichuk,
July 18, 2010 9:30 PM

True Unity

True unity will come to the Jewish people when they not only reconcile themselves with one another but with all.

(3)
Yochanan,
July 18, 2010 5:28 PM

Jewish unity

May Hashem bring unity among us. May we learn to embrace one another's ideas and most importantly, may we never tell another jew that He is not jewish becuase of his/her beliefs.

(2)
SusanE,
July 18, 2010 3:48 PM

It is Now Understandable.

Rabbi, You don't say whether the Man who said his house had lost his soul was a Jewish man. Were you not intrigued by that statement and the reason why that house had lost its soul for him? He was trying to connect with you about something important in his life. Did you love him enough to listen? Did you put your feelings of comfort above love for a fellow human?

(1)
Norm,
July 18, 2010 3:30 PM

God's House/God's Will

God's House will be rebuilt when it is God's time . . . Not before, not after. Man's role in this is to obey His directives. In all of Jewish history, never once has the entire Jewish people moved as one, without God's inspiration. Don't hold your collective breaths waiting for it to happen now.
N.